OCA STATEMENT ON RUSSIA, BELARUS

The Olympic Council of Asia released the following statement on January 26: The OCA joins the Olympic Movement in its support of the IOC Executive Board’s statement on solidarity with Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the status of athletes from these countries.

The OCA believes in the unifying power of sport and that all athletes, regardless of their nationality or the passport they hold, should be able to compete in sports competitions. The OCA has offered to give eligible Russian and Belarusian athletes the opportunity to take part in competitions in Asia, including the Asian Games.

The OCA remains on standby as the IOC continues to explore with International Federations the pathway for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation in competition under strict conditions.

Considered among the top rung of Indian public schools, YPS Patiala is an English medium boarding/day school founded in 1948 by the late His Highness Maharaja Adhiraj Yadavindra Singh.

OCA CONFIRMS DATES FOR ATHLETES’ FORUM IN BANGKOK

The dates have been set for the OCA Athletes Forum to be held in Bangkok – Saturday and Sunday, March 18-19.

The forum, which is being held in cooperation with the IOC Athletes Commission and IOC Athletes Department, will take place at the Centara Grand at CentralWorld Bangkok, the OCA announced on January 11.

“Part of the OCA’s and OCA Athletes Committee’s strategy for 2023 is to focus on supporting Athletes Committees in Asia and working together hand in hand to help and assist athletes on and off the field of play,” said OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam.

“We believe in their important role in building better societies and we will focus on the role and responsibilities of Athletes Committees to reach our goals and objectives.”

Each NOC can register two delegates from their own Athletes Committee or send two athlete representatives if the NOC has not established an Athletes Committeemandatory one male and one female in both cases.

Fina Renamed World Aquatics To Encompass All Six Disciplines

FINA, the Fédération Internationale de Natation, changed its name to World Aquatics following a vote at an Extraordinary Congress in Melbourne, Australia on December 12, 2022.

The launch of the World Aquatics brand arrived after a series of major reforms that sees a modern organisation ready to lead and serve athletes united by water, with a broader scope and increased engagement with participants and audiences.

“Everyone in our community is proud of what FINA achieved in developing our sports,” said the President of World Aquatics, Husain Al Musallam.

“As we look to the future, World Aquatics will see all aquatics athletes united for the first time under one brand. The identity of our organisation now focuses on our shared vision: a world united by water, for health, life and sport.”

Mr Al Musallam pointed out that FINA was a French acronym, with the word “Natation” representing swimming.

“These days, swimmers are only one, important, part of our FINA family. We need a name that reflects the whole FINA family - a name that can be used with pride by our divers, high divers, artistic swimmers, open water swimmers and our water polo athletes.”

Mr Al Musallam said athletes had been consulted over the matter and had played a big part in the decision.

“Their response has been very clear. More than 70 per cent of the athletes we have spoken with have said they would like us to change FINA’s name. Many of them could not even tell us what the letters in FINA stand for."

The official rebranding from FINA to World Aquatics on December 12 marked the culmination of 18 months of intensive organisational transformation, much of it guided by the FINA Reform Committee.

Fina

Founded: London, July 19, 1908

Member Federations: 209

Disciplines

(6): Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming, Open Water Swimming, High Diving.

Olympic Games history

Swimming: 1896

Water Polo: 1900

Diving: 1904

Synchronized (Artistic) Swimming: 1984

Marathon Swimming: 2008

World Aquatics Plans Centre Of Excellence In Bahrain

World Aquatics and the Bahrain Olympic Committee have announced plans to create a new centre of excellence for aquatic sports at the University of Technology Bahrain, in partnership with GFH Financial Group and the Bahrain Swimming Association.

“I am extremely excited by this partnership with Bahrain. Our bold plans for a centre of excellence here will serve as an example to the world,” said World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam at the signing ceremony on January 31.

“Our high-performance athletes are at their best when they can benefit from the right mix of facilities, coaching and sports science. World Aquatics is determined to ensure that this mix is available to athletes from all our national federations.

"We are also delighted to include an educational component with the help of the University of Technology Bahrain.”